Yes they do exist.. I'm about to play in my local golf course amatuer tournament.. It's flighted.. The one at my club has 3-4 flights depending on how many people they get to sign up.. Usually flight A is 0-6 handicaps then B 7-13 then C is 14-18.. If your an 18+ handicap you'll just play out off of 18.. Call your local courses or google your local area..

Of course. How else would the 99% of players in the world get to compete?

In Norway you can find both pure stroke play and Stableford tournaments. Stroke play competitions are usually divided into divisions, based on handicap, so a 30 handicap don't have to compete against single digits.

Do these exist? I see some people post about golf tourneys they play in and look at their handicaps and they are around my 20 handicap.

Not a stupid question at all. It can be hard to find opportunities to play handicapped tournaments. There are always amateur events available for players with low single digit indexes. Most state golf associations have a full schedule of events for the very good player but often few or no opportunities for those of us with indexes of 10+.

Generally handicapped tournaments are arranged in one of two formats, flighted by handicap or net scoring using full or a percentage of handicap.

Flighted tournaments place everyone with an index falling within a pre-set range into a group or "flight" (e.g. 0.0 - 3.9; 4.0 to 7.9; 8.0 to 13.9; 14.0 to 19.9 and 20.0+). Scoring within the flight is at scratch - no handicap adjustment is made. The winner is the player with the lowest gross score within the flight. The best examples of this type of tournament is the Golfweek Amateur Tour and/or the Golf Channel Amateur Tour.

Net tournaments give every player their full course handicap based on their current index. Sometimes organizers go one further step and flight the players by age, gender and/or index while still playing to a net score. The best example of this is the World Amateur Handicap Championship held in Myrtle Beach each year.

So how do you find these handicap tournaments? Start with your state or local golf associations. In Michigan the demand for net tournaments was great enough that the USGA affiliated Golf Association of Michigan now holds several "Net" events annually. It is common for cities to have golf championships. Some are for just the elite amateur but others cater to every type of golfer by using flights and/or awarding prizes for both "Gross" and "Net" results. Most allow entries from nonresidents so one does not need to live in Taylor, Livonia or Ann Arbor to play in the City Championship. Many public courses hold a handicapped club championship or other tournament designed for all levels of ability. Typically these events are posted on club bulletin boards and/or websites.

Finally, there are often amateur associations that sponsor & run a series of events. In Michigan we are fortunate to have both the Michigan Publinx Golf Association and the Michigan Publinx Senior Golf Association. Each of these groups run a series of handicapped events throughout the summer. It would not surprise me if Ohio did not have similar groups.

With a bit of work, you probably can find a number of events in Ohio where an index of 20.0 will be competitive within the proper flight or where prizes are awarded for "Net" scoring.

Our city tournament has a 2 day qualification. After the qualification everyone gets flighted and then it becomes match play. Of course sandbaggers looking for a plaque to boost their ego have frustrated many a competitor. It's kind of sad to see a guy win the 4th flight and when you look him up he holds a 6 index and he's playing against 16s. Bad 2 days on qualification or sandbagger? Hard to tell. On the flip side, anyone can compete and no handicap is required.

Sandbaggedrs are a disgusting element within golf, and sadly we can do little to eradicate the disease. In Northern California the NCGA has stripped champions of their titles and trophies when found to have cheated. The most recent I recall was a gentleman who held two indexes and when he was outed by a player after the event, an investigation found him out, he was given 14 days to explain himself, he didn't and they unceremoniously stripped him of his win.

It is obvious when you meet a SB and it can get in to your head as none of us want to hear the pathetic story of how "I've never played this well" or "I have just come back from surgery" As we all know it's an honour game and sadly all men are not made honour equal.

Most courses have some type of golf association or league. Go to your local course and inquire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireblade

It is obvious when you meet a SB and it can get in to your head as none of us want to hear the pathetic story of how "I've never played this well" or "I have just come back from surgery" As we all know it's an honour game and sadly all men are not made honour equal.

I love the " I had my career round today" guy who then promptly shoots the same score in the next tournament as well. Get a rope!

Thanks for the info guys. I especially enjoyed the sandbagger stories. I have never heard of a sandbagger in golf. I have seen a foursome turn in a -21 in a golf tourney that everyone knew that was BS and a fight ensued at the bar afterwards.

We had a guy this week in the 12.0-15.9 handicap range that was playing his 3rd tournament with the AmTour and carded a +5. Obviously lied about his skills when he signed up for the AmTour. I hope Karma gets him back.

We had a guy this week in the 12.0-15.9 handicap range that was playing his 3rd tournament with the AmTour and carded a +5. Obviously lied about his skills when he signed up for the AmTour. I hope Karma gets him back.

Whoa ... how do you know that he "obviously" lied? What's the rule, in your book, for how good of a score you allowed to shoot based on your handicap? As a 9/10 handicap in the last year I've shot a +2 and a +3 and I can promise you that those scores, and my handicap, are 100% legit. Several years ago I shot my best score ever, a 70 on a 71, and then I would probably also have been a 10-ish handicap.

Point is, +5 for a 12 cap is right in line with those scores I just mentioned.

So, I don't think (unless you have more info you aren't sharing) that he needs to be paid back by karma just yet. Say congratulations, hope that the director moves him up a flight, and go practice.

Im a little worried about the sandbagger tag this weekend. I'm the furtherest thing from it BUT the handicaps turned on in April. So like the others, I only have a handful of scores in for this season. I'm basically playing off last years handicap. If I post a low round, some will probably be thinking that I am one.

Thanks for the info guys. I especially enjoyed the sandbagger stories. I have never heard of a sandbagger in golf. I have seen a foursome turn in a -21 in a golf tourney that everyone knew that was BS and a fight ensued at the bar afterwards.

It's been my experience that scramble tournaments are notorious for that kind of thing. I've seen some pretty inflated (deflated?) scores that seemed very doubtful at best. Not saying it can't happen, but I often see a lot of -15 to -20+ scores posted. Sometimes it almost seems like the best/biggest liar wins.

It's been my experience that scramble tournaments are notorious for that kind of thing. I've seen some pretty inflated (deflated?) scores that seemed very doubtful at best. Not saying it can't happen, but I often see a lot of -15 to -20+ scores posted. Sometimes it almost seems like the best/biggest liar wins.

I have often played in scrambles where im the worst player. If you get 3-4 good players and they are long, the par 5's are easily had. 4 putts at an eagle, 4-5 times for the round and low numbers can be had. That said the lowest we ever came in at was -16 I believe.

As good as it can be, usually you might miss a par 3 or par 4 in regulation and make a par. I would question anything under -18 for sure.

I have often played in scrambles where im the worst player. If you get 3-4 good players and they are long, the par 5's are easily had. 4 putts at an eagle, 4-5 times for the round and low numbers can be had. That said the lowest we ever came in at was -16 I believe.

As good as it can be, usually you might miss a par 3 or par 4 in regulation and make a par. I would question anything under -18 for sure.

Yeah, my problem is that most scrambles I've ever played in ... I was the best player on the team. So, we would, on a good day, come in at -10 and finish in the middle of the pack, and on a mediocre day, we'd come in at -4 or something and finish near the bottom. I don't care much for scrambles (meaning, if I had my druthers I'd always rather play an actual round) but it would be kind of fun once to be the worst player on a scramble team.

We had a guy this week in the 12.0-15.9 handicap range that was playing his 3rd tournament with the AmTour and carded a +5. Obviously lied about his skills when he signed up for the AmTour. I hope Karma gets him back.

The chart below was borrowed from the Pope of Slope's website (the USGA handicap manual may have the same chart). A 12 handicapper playing a par 72 course rated 72.0/113 and shooting a 77 would have a "net" differential of -7 (differential of 5.0 minus his 12 handicap strokes). The odds of that are 1,200 to 1 which makes the result possible but not probable. If the course rating is 71.0/113 then the "net" differential is -6 and the odds are 536 to 1 and the result is starting to look more like one of those magical rounds we all have every couple years. If the course rating drops to 70.0/113 then the round is a great round but one we might expect to see every other year or so.

As others have indicated, there is a fair amount of information we do not have. The course rating, slope and the player's course handicap all are required to get an accurate estimate of the probability. Again, as commenters have said, one great score deserves congratulations from everyone. When the second great score gets posted, it is time to let the tournament committee examine the situation and the handicap system may very well result in an adjustment in his handicap and an "R" designation.